Cellulose organic derivative composition of matter containing a bb&#39;-dialkoxy diethyl adipate



Patented Mar. I4, 1933* UNITED STATES PATENTTOFFICE HENRY B. SMITH, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO EASTMAN KODAK OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A COB PORATION'OE YORK v GELLULOSE onoamc nnnrvarrvn comrosrrron or MATTER. comanrme a -IBIB'-D]IALKOXY DIETHYL AmrATE No Drawing.

This invention relates to compositions of matter in which cellulose organic derivatives, such as cellulose acetate or; cellulose ethers, are combined or mixed with other substances,

such as a compatible plasticizer, with or without a common solvent foriboth, and with or without other useful addition ag'ent s,--so that the resulting product 'Qwilhhave properties such as will make the-composition highly advantageous for iise in the plastic and anaflexible sheets or vfilmsof desired thinnesswhich are substantially waterproof, are unaffected by ordinary photographic fluids and sensitive photographic jcoating'stj Another object of my invention is to producea compositionof matter which is capable-of easy and convenientmanipulation the lastic and analogous. arts suchas inthe'manu acture of sheets, films,'-artificial'silk,filament, Var-fl nishes, lacquers'and' the like, and to produce a composition which will'not' injure, or beinjured by, the substancesibrsurfaces with which it is, associated during manufacture. Another object of. my invention is to produce compositions which can be molded at elevated temperatures and high pressures to produce plastic products having the desirable properties of celluloid; Still another-object of. my

invention is to produce compositions; of mata ter containing cellulose acetate which have a 40 high degree of flexibility, softness pliability,

and clarity. Other objects will become'apparent to those skilled in theart to which this invention pertains.

While celluloseacetate has beenknown for decades, it has also been known that to' 5 utilize it in various plastic artsit is'necessary tomix therewith such plasticizing" 'orconditioning. agents as triphenyl phosphate,

monochlornaphthalene or the like. Certain of these and otherjaddition agents-arealso.

respectively. The erties 'which'th'ey induce in 'or contribute to ap ncaummea August 10, 1931. Serial No. as.

added for the purposeof reducing the inflammability of the product. Plastic inducing agents, such as the higher alcohols and their esters, are sometimes also added. Similarly,

addition compounds of various kinds have beenemployed to increase flexibility, transparency, toughness and other properties which will'enhance the value of the resulting product. Addition products for the same or similarv purposes are also added to cellulose acetate to prepare it for vuse in the other plastic arts, such as in the manufacture of lacquers, varnishes, artificial silk filaments, molded compoundsand the like. While the plasticizers or other addition agents heretofore discovered'have had their utility in the art, the increasing use to which cellulose acetate has been put and the increasing number of; desirable properties required of cellulose acetate f or most purposes have made the disc0very e .new -and economical plasticizers possess the deslred properties of asupport for or other addition agents a'matter of considerable importance to the art. This has been a problem of sometdiificulty, since many of the nitrocellulose solvents are not solvents for cellulose acetate, "and many substances which act as plasticizers for nitrocellulose are not sufiiciently compatible with cellulose acetate to be used as'plasticizers in cellulose acetate compositions,

I have discovered'that valuable properties may be induced in and/or contributed to compositions containing-organic derivatives of cellulo'se,-such as cellulose acetate, by adding thereto as a plasticizing compound a BB- dialkoxydiethyl adipate, namely BB diethoxy diethyl adipate or BB'-di methoxydiethyl adipate, These adipates have the formulae oorcntomooini V 5: OLOHLOHL'OCaH'i. I

\ OOz-OHaLOHaOQHi;

particularly useful: props cellulosic compositions containing them are 9 v It) the BB-dimetho1:y

describe maybe deposited upon any hereinafter enumerated. These compounds may also be called BB di-alkoxyethyl adiates. p BB'-diethoxy diethyl adipate may be prepared 'as follows: 915 o adipyl chloride is added dropwise to of ethylene glycol monoethyl ether in a 5- ter'flask equipped with a stirrer a reflux condenser, and a riping funnel. when it has all been added, e mixture is heated until the evolution of hydrochloric acid gas ceases. The material m the flask is then distilled at low pressure, the 'BB-diethoxy diethyl adipate distilling over at 164-166 C. at 4 mm. pressure. 7

BB-.dimethoxy diethyl adi ate may be pre ared as follows: 915 g. of a ip l chloride is a ded dropwise to 760 g. of ethy ene glycol monomethyl ether in a 5-liter flask equipped with a stirrer, a reflux condenser, anda ropping funnel. When it has all been added the mixture is heated until the evolution oi hydrochloric acid gas ceases. The material in the flask is then distilled'at low pressure,

diethyl adipate istilling over at 194-196 at 20 mm. pressure.

In order that those skilled in this art may better understand my invention I would state, by way of illustration, that for the manufacture of photographic film or other sheets my new composition of matter ma be compounded as follows: 100 parts 0 acetonesoluble cellulose acetate, i. e. cellulose acetate containing from 36% to 42% acetyl radical, approximately, is dissolved with stirring at atmospheric temperature in 300 to 500 parts,

referably 400 parts, by weight, of acetone. To this solution may be added from 10 to parts by wei ht of BB-diethoxy diethyl adipate or of B'-dimethox diethyl a ipate. Within the limits stated, t e amount of plasticizer may be decreased or increased, depending upon whether it is desired to decrease, or increase, respectively, the properties which these plasticizers contribute to the finished product. The amount of solvent employed may also be increased or decreased, depending upon whether it is desired to have a more or less freely flowing composition, res ectively.

2 com osition of matter prepared as aboqze su1 able film-forming surface to form a 1m or sheet, in a manner well known to those skilled in the. art. A film so produced has ermanently brilliant transparency (even w are as much as 50 to parts of BB'-dialkoxy diethyl adipate per 100 parts of cellulose organic derivative, such as cellulose acetate, is used) and low inflammability, burning no more readily than ordinary newsprint.

" Films or sheets produced in accordance with my invention are quite tough and flexible. For instance, films of cellulose acetate plasticized with 10% to 50% (pgrts'by weight based on the acetate) of B '-diethoxy dient that m of the plastic art.

ethyl adipate had an initial flexibili from 3% to 11 times as great as that of containing no plasticizer, and cellulose acetate films Elasticized with 20% to 50% of BB- dimet oxy diethyl adipate had" an initial flexibility from 2% to of film containing no more, film so plasticize in a su rior fashion. For instance, films contammg 10% to 30% of BB'-diethoxy diethyl adipate maintained flexibilit at C. for more than 200 da s, and contammg 30% to 50% of B'-dimethoxy diethyl adipate maintained flexibility at 65- C. formore than 177 da s, whereas an un- Elasticized film became rittle in 30 days.

his demonstrates that films so plasticized, wlll withstand ordinary usage satisfactorily for many years. The sum total of the above advantageous properties of products pro- 6 times as great as that plast cizer. Furthermamtains flexibility duced from my new compositions is considerably in excess of that of products produced with what have previously been regarded as the better plasticizers.

Qther similar solvents (instead of acetone) which are compatible with the cellulose acetate and my new plasticizers may also occur to those skilled in this art. In like manner these plasticizers inay be compounded with other single organic esters of cellulose, such as cellulose propionate, butyrate and the like, or with mixed organic and/or inorganic esters, such as cellulose aceto-stearate, cellulose aceto-propionate, cellulose aceto-malate, or cellulose nitro-acetate, or with cellulose ethers, a suitable solvent which will dissolve both the cellulosic derivative and the plasticizer being employed.

Inasmuch as myabove described compositions of matter are quite useful in the production of films and sheets, it will be apparnew plasticizers may also be emadvanta in the other branches or instance, my above described compositions of matter may be employed in the manufacture of artificial silk y the d spinning method. With the proper coagu atmg bath they may also be employed for wet spinning. It may be desired to employ compositions of different viscosity or evaporation characteristics, but this is a mere matter of changing the solvent proportion or adding evaporation retardents or other hi h or intermediate boilin constituents, as as been well known in t e art for more than a decade. My novel plasticizers may v also be employed with advantage in connection with a number of the known lacquer and varnish formulae with which they may be found to be compatible. In such cases the plasticizer is usually first put into solution in the cellulose derivative solution, and if non-solvents are added for the purpose of cheapening the composition they are added only to such an extent as will not precipitate ployed wit the derivative from solution. Also the plasticizer is usually employed in larger amounts, such as from 50 to 60 parts, in compoundmg lacquers. Other uses within the scope of my invention will also suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and are to be included within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

The BB-dialkoxy diethyl adipates may also be advantageously used as plasticizers in cellulose acetate molding compositions. For instance, when from about 20% to 40% (parts by weight based on the cellulose acetate) of BB'-diethoxy diethyl adipate or of BB'-dimethoxy diethyl adipate is homogeneously mixed with cellulose acetate, the mixture may be converted into a hard, translucent plastic product by molding at a temperature of140 to 160 C. and a pressure of from 2000 to 5000 pounds per square inch for a period of from 2 to 5 minutes, in a manner already known to those skilled in molding compounds of that nature.

Moreover, I have found that, upon the addition to cellulose acetate of approximately 100% of BB'-diethoxy diethyl adipate or of BB-dimethoxy diethyl adi ate, quite unexpected compatibility of the p asticizer with the cellulose acetate exists and also that quite unexpected flexibility and plasticity of the final product results. Contrary to experience in most cases where such a large proportion of plasticizer is used, no exudation or crystallizing out of the plasticizer occurs. In fact, methoxy-ethyl adipate may be used in almost any proportions with cellulose acetate, since it is a solvent for it. Such compositions have great utility where a highly flexible compound is desired, such as in the coating of a base (for instance, cloth or other fabric) in the production of artificial leather or the production of relatively thin sheets wherein more than the usual flexibility is important. Such a composition, if converted, for instance, into sheet form will be found to be supple and non-rigid, and to have the ability to conform readily to a surface upon which it may be placed, and this even at atmospheric temperatures.

These novel compositions of matter are produced by merely mixing the plasticizer with cellulose acetate and then adding suflicient of a common solvent, such as acetone, whereupon an intimate mixture of the plasticizer with the cellulose acetate results. The amount of acetone or other common solvent to be employed varies, of course, within rather wide limits depending upon the fluidity of the composition desired. 100 parts of acetone will suffice for many purposes, although we prefer to use 400 parts. Various high boilers or evaporating retardents, such as ethyl lactate, amyl acetate or the like may also be added if desired, as is well known in this art.

The compositions of matter so produced may then be coated into sheets in the usual wa by depositing them upon plates or rolls an permitting the solvent to evaporate. If my novel compositions are to be employed in the manufacture of artificial leather, they may be coated upon, for instance, a cloth support and the solvent permitted to eva orate, or the cloth support may be cause to pass through the cellulose acetatelasticizer composition and permitted to absor the solution, the solvent in the coating being then permitted to evaporate. In either case, the solvent may, of course, be recovered, if desired, by condensing the vapors, etc.

, While above and in certain of the claims appended hereto, I have referred to the use of a plasticizer in approximately equal proportions, namely in a ratio of approximately 100%, it will be understood that within this terminology variations of from 10% to 15% less than 100% of plasticizer and as much 'as 25% to 50% more than 100% of the plasticizer may in some instances be desirable.

What I claim as my invention and desire to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

-l. A composition of matter comprising an organic derivative of cellulose and a lower BB-dialkoxy diethyl adipate.

2. A composition of matter comprising cellulose acetate and a lower BB-dialkoxy diethyl adipate.

3. A composition of matter comprising cellulpse acetate and BB'-diethoxy diethyl adipa e.

4. A composition of matter comprising cellulose acetate and BB-dimethoxy diethyl adipate.

5. A composition of matter comprising 100 parts of cellulose acetate and about 10 to 100 parts, by weight, of a lower BB-dialkoxy diethyl adipate.

6. A relatively thin sheet comprising 100 parts of cellulose acetate and about 10 to 100 parts, by weight, of a lower BB'-dialkoxy diethyl adipate.

7. molding composition adapted to molding under elevated temperatures and high pressures, comprising cellulose acetate and a lower BB'-dialkoxy diethyl adipate.

8. A molding composition adapted to molding under elevated temperatures and high pressures, comprising 1.00 parts of cellulose acetate and approximately 20 to 50 parts, by weight, of a lower BB'-dialkoxy diethyl adipate.

Signed at Rochester, New York this 31st day of July 1931.

HENRY B. SMITH.

DISCLAIMER 1,901,130.Henry B. Smith, Rochester, N. Y. CELLULosE ORGANIC'DERIVATIVE CoMPosI'rIoN OF MATTER CONTAINING ABB-DIALK0XY DIETHYL ADIPATE. Patent dated March 14, 1933. Disclaimer filedJuly 18, 1935, by the assignee, Eastman Kodak Company.

' Hereby enters this disclaimer to that part of the specification of the aforesaid Letters Patent which consists of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 which are in the following words, to wit:

1. A composition of matter comprising an organic derivati ve of cellulose and alower BB'-dialkoxy diethyladipate.

2. A composition of matter comprising cellulose acetate and a lower BB- dialkoxy diethyl adipate.

3. A composition of matter comprising cellulose acetate and BB-diethoxy diethyl adipate. 1

4. A composition of matter comprising cellulose acetate and BB'-dimethoxy diethyl adipate. V

5. A composition of matter comprising 100 parts of cellulose acetate and about 10 to 100 parts, by weight, of a lower BB-dialkoxy diethyl adipate.

[Qflicial Gazette August 6, 1.935.] 

